First sunset of a new year in California

This beautiful sunset wrapped up the day on Jan. 3 in Oceanside, California.

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  • PHOTOS: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris's inauguration

    Here’s a look at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris through the lenses of photographers who were there.

  • Michael Flynn’s brother reveals he was involved in Capitol riot response after Army denied it, report says

    Apparent U-turn by Pentagon officials could pose questions about police response

  • McConnell threatens to block Senate's power-sharing agreement if it doesn't preserve the filibuster

    The evenly split Senate is having a hard time agreeing who's in charge.Georgia's two new Democratic senators were sworn in Wednesday, giving Republicans and Democrats 50 senators each, with Vice President Kamala Harris as a Democratic tiebreaker. The two parties are now working out a power-sharing agreement, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) commitment to the filibuster is standing in the way.McConnell on Thursday formally acknowledged Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as the chamber's new majority leader. But as he has been for days, McConnell again implored Democrats to preserve the filibuster that lets a senator extend debate and block a timely vote on a bill if there aren't 60 votes to stop it. Democrats "have no plans to gut the filibuster further, but argue it would be a mistake to take one of their tools off the table just as they're about to govern," Politico reports; More progressive senators do want to remove the option completely.If his filibuster demands aren't met, McConnell has threatened to block the Senate power-sharing agreement that would put Democrats in charge of the body's committees. But Democrats already seem confident in their newfound power, with Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) telling Politico that "Chuck Schumer is the majority leader and he should be treated like majority leader." Giving in to McConnell "would be exactly the wrong way to begin," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) echoed.Other Democrats shared their resistance to McConnell's demands in tweets. > McConnell is threatening to filibuster the Organizing Resolution which allows Democrats to assume the committee Chair positions. It's an absolutely unprecedented, wacky, counterproductive request. We won the Senate. We get the gavels.> > -- Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) January 21, 2021> So after Mitch McConnell changed the Senate rules at a blistering pace during his 6 years in charge, he is threatening to filibuster the Senate's organizing resolution unless the Democratic majority agrees to never change the rules again.> > Huh.> > -- Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 21, 2021More stories from theweek.com 7 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's White House exit Biden needs a plan B Biden's team reportedly realized after inauguration that Trump really had no vaccine distribution plan

  • Trump spends first night as a private citizen 'looking for lawyers for his impeachment trial'

    Donald Trump spent his first hours as a private citizen scrambling to find lawyers to represent him in his upcoming impeachment trial, as he settled into his new home at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. One of Mr Trump’s first calls after leaving office was to Lindsey Graham, South Carolina senator and staunch ally, telling him he was now “looking for some lawyers” for the imminent Senate hearing. "[Trump] said, 'I really don't know the lay of the land here,' and he's looking for some lawyers," Mr Graham told Punchbowl News. "I'm trying to help him there, and he's just trying to put together a team." Mr Trump will not be drawing on his usual litigators: Rudy Giuliani, his longtime personal lawyer, is likely to step aside as he could be called as a witness, while attorneys who represented him at the first impeachment hearing have declined.

  • EU, Turkey cautiously eye improved ties after tough 2020

    The European Union and Turkey pressed each other on Thursday to take concrete steps to improve relations long strained by disagreements over energy, migration and Ankara's human rights record. Turkey, which remains an official candidate for EU membership despite the tensions, is facing the threat of EU economic sanctions over a hydrocarbons dispute with Greece in the eastern Mediterranean, but the mood music between Brussels and Ankara has improved since the new year.

  • AD100 Designer Monique Gibson Designs a Tribeca Aerie with High-Impact Views

    800 feet up in the sky, the Dreamy 6,000 square foot space offers panoramic views from the East River to the HudsonOriginally Appeared on Architectural Digest

  • Kamala Harris won't be moving into vice president's residence immediately

    Vice presidents since Vice President Walter Mondale have been living in the residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.

  • Biden’s homeland security nominee pledges to tackle domestic extremism and prevent another attack on the Capitol

    Less than two weeks after a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Alejandro Mayorkas, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for Homeland Security Secretary, assured senators that, if confirmed, he will “tackle the threat of domestic extremism” and prevent future attacks.

  • Pelosi, McCarthy respond to questions about House members’ role in the Capitol assault

    At separate press conferences on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy responded to reporters’ questions about the role members of Congress may have played in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6.

  • Graham Hopes Trump Stays ‘Leader’ of GOP, Says Enemies Will ‘Get Erased’ If They Try to Oust Him

    Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) on Wednesday warned fellow Republicans that if they try to “erase Donald Trump from the party, you’re going to get erased.” “I hope people in our party understand the party itself,” he told Fox News hours after President Joe Biden was sworn-in. “Most Republicans like his policies. A lot of Republicans like his style,” Graham said. “A lot of people are disappointed with him personally at times but appreciate the outcomes he’s achieved for our country.” Asked if he thinks Trump will try to start another political party — according to the Wall Street Journal, the former president is toying with the idea of forming a “Patriot Party” — Graham said he hoped Trump does not, adding that he would like to see him “stay the leader of the Republican Party.” He defended Trump’s presidency as “a good four years for judges, for rebuilding the military, for bringing order to the border, for historic peace agreements in the Mideast.” He also commended the former president’s appointment of three Supreme Court justices. “I hope President Trump understands that his legacy and his best future lies with the Republican Party,” he said. He added that removing Trump from the party “would be a disaster … The one way Democrats can survive is for the Republican Party to crack up. The best way for the Republican Party to crack up is try to move forward without Donald Trump.” A number of Republicans have disavowed Trump in recent weeks after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, leaving five people dead. A handful of House Republicans joined Democrats in voting to impeach the president for “incitement of insurrection.”

  • British lawyer declines HK case after being subjected to 'disgraceful' comment

    A British prosecutor hired by the Hong Kong government to lead a case against democracy activists has pulled out after coming under pressure in Britain including 'disgraceful' comments by its foreign minister, city authorities said on Wednesday. David Perry, a Queen's Counsel, was due to lead the case against tabloid media magnate Jimmy Lai and several others, including veteran democracy activists Martin Lee and Margaret Ng. But Hong Kong's Department of Justice noted "growing pressure and criticism" of Perry in Britain for taking the case, adding in a statement that he had "concerns about such pressures and the exemption of quarantine" and "indicated that the trial should proceed without him".

  • Indonesia ends search for crashed plane's victims, debris

    Indonesian authorities on Thursday ended the search for remaining victims and debris from a Sriwijaya Air jet that nosedived into the Java Sea, killing all 62 people on board. Transportation minister Budi Karya Sumadi said retrieval operations have ended after nearly two weeks, but that a limited search for the missing memory unit from the cockpit voice recorder will continue. The memory unit apparently broke away from other parts of the voice recorder during the crash.

  • Pence moves out and Harris moves in: This is the official home of the Vice President

    Ms Harris is expected to move into the 128-year-old residence once a number of repairs have been made

  • Biden tells new White House hires he'll fire them 'on the spot' if they disrespect colleagues or constituents

    President Biden administered the oath of office to about 1,000 new appointees on Wednesday evening, offering words of encouragement, a sharp warning, and, more than anything, a mission statement on how he views government service."You're engaged in and you're working with the most decent government in the world, and we have to restore the soul of this country — and I'm counting on all of you to be part of that," Biden told the new White House hires. "The only thing I expect with absolutely certitude is honesty and decency in the way you treat one another, the way you treat the people you deal with. And I mean that sincerely. Remember, the people don't work for us, we work for the people. I work for the people. They pay my salary. They pay your salary. They put their faith in you. I put my faith in you.""History is gonna measure us, and our fellow Americans will measure us, by how decent, honorable, and smart we've been in terms of looking out for their interests," Biden said. "I'm not joking when I say this: If you're ever working with me, and I hear you treated another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot. On the spot, no ifs, ands, or buts. Everybody, everybody is entitled to be treated with decency and dignity. That's been missing in a big way in the last four years.""The proof is can you perform, but just a different tone from an incredibly different president that the one we just watched leave town today," CNN's John King said in response to Biden's talk. "Treat each other with respect, treat each other with dignity, I'll fire you on the spot if you don't. We've been reading tweets every morning for four years now in which the former president of the United States violated what we just heard from the new president of the United States. So it is a very important new ethos, if you will, for public service."More stories from theweek.com 7 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's White House exit Biden needs a plan B Biden's team reportedly realized after inauguration that Trump really had no vaccine distribution plan

  • Two women escape kidnapper in popular NC tourist town, cops say. Suspect is at-large

    One of the women told police the man sexually assaulted her in his SUV.

  • China hopes for cooperation, better relations under Biden

    China on Thursday expressed hope the Biden administration will improve prospects for people of both countries and give a boost to relations after an especially rocky patch, while getting in a few final digs at former Trump officials. “I think after this very difficult and extraordinary time, both the Chinese and American people deserve a better future,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters at a daily briefing. “Many people of insight in the international community are looking forward to the early return of Sino-U.S. relations to the correct track in making due contributions to jointly address the major and urgent challenges facing the world today,” Hua said.

  • As Trump departs office, reality sets in for QAnon cult

    The fantasy ended at noon on Jan. 20, when President Biden took the oath of office, while the erstwhile QAnon hero, now just Donald Trump, ex-president, skulked off to his estate in Florida without even a Twitter account to his name.

  • India, 'pharmacy of the world', starts COVID vaccine shipments to neighbours

    India started delivering coronavirus vaccines to its neighbours on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said, flagging off a drive to garner goodwill in an often fractious region with the first shipment sent to the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. Bangladesh and Nepal said they expected deliveries on Thursday. The only neighbour absent from India's list apart from China, is regional rival Pakistan, which had not requested assistance, according to an Indian government official.

  • Strong earthquake shakes southern Philippines; no tsunami

    A powerful earthquake shook parts of the southern Philippines on Thursday night, but authorities said it was too deep to cause major damage and no tsunami warning was issued. The quake measured magnitude 7.0 and was located 95.8 kilometers (60 miles) below the sea and about 210 kilometers (130 miles) southeast of Pondaguitan in Davao Occidental province, the U.S. Geological Survey said. In Davao city, President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown, some residents ran out of their houses as the ground shook and power cables and business signs swayed, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.

  • Newsom promised 1 million COVID-19 vaccinations. California can't tell if he hit his goal

    Gov. Gavin Newsom said 1 million additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine would be administered in California over the course of 10 days. But due to the state's data collection issues, it is unclear whether he met that goal.